Our view: Edison’s bright idea is being phased out

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The Bulletin

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Posted Nov. 18, 2013 at 2:01 AM

Posted Nov. 18, 2013 at 2:01 AM

As of Jan. 1, 40- and 60-watt incandescent light bulbs will no longer be manufactured, the last piece in phase-out of incandescent bulbs. Production of 100- and 75-watt bulbs ended in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

The “ban” on light bulbs is part of the Energy Independence and Security Act that Congress enacted in 2007 to gradually switch the nation’s use to more energy efficient compact fluorescence, LEDs and Halogen light bulbs.

The ban, however, does not prohibit the sale or purchase of the older incandescent bulbs. Stores are permitted to sell any existing inventory they have, and citizens are free to use whatever lighting source they wish until such time their options are exhausted.

Fluorescent bulbs are more expensive to purchase than the older incandescent bulbs, but last significantly longer -- thus proving to be less expensive over the long haul -- and are four to six times more efficient in producing light. A 15-watt fluorescent bulb can produce the same amount of light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb.

On average LEDs use 75 percent less energy, last 15 times longer than incandescent and it’s anticipated that by 2020, LEDs will provide over 60 percent of the nation’s lighting.

The change is one of the lower-cost ways of reducing electricity costs, and thereby produce additional savings for homeowners with lower electric bills.

The old incandescent light bulb has not changed much since Thomas Edison first produced light using a carbonized thread from his wife’s sewing box. His invention was so revolutionary that the light bulb became the iconic image that illustrators have used for more than a century to signify a thought or idea.

And although they have been a reliable source of light for more than a century, they are extremely inefficient in today’s world. Ninety percent of the energy used to light an incandescent bulb is converted to heat, not light.

There are exceptions to the law. Appliance lights, colored lights, three-way bulbs and incandescent less than 40-watts are exempt, and can continue to be manufactured and sold.